If that was the initial legal agreement? Yes. You went in knowing the terms of the agreement and you took the risk.

I was at fault for not leaving sooner, but I believed in their talent and wanted to help them succeed.

I made the same mistake, I was an idealistic 28 year old, tired of the dating game and she wasn’t the right person but came along at the right time. She didn’t do anything to help me too much. I filed for divorce four years later, I knew the longer we stayed married, the more risks I had of long term consequences - taking more of my net worth, child support (we didn’t have kids), etc.

My previous post was about my second marriage.

Ok fine. So when the marriage ends, how long do you think that support should continue for?

You act as if the law is one size fits all. It’s a “judgement” call. That’s why we have judges, lawyers, etc.

Of course no one is going to be married for a year and have to pay alimony for the rest of their life. I didn’t pay any alimony. Then again we were only married for four years and she couldn’t realistically argue that she helped me succeed.

But in general, pay alimony long enough for them to conceivably get on their feet. Four or five years maybe. But the longer you are married, the more it is going to cost you.